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Benefits Of District Energy
District energy is an energy-efficient, environmentally sound
method of heating and cooling buildings. District energy systems
produce steam, hot water or chilled water at a central plant.
The steam or water is then piped underground to individual
buildings within a designated area for heating, cooling or
industrial use. District energy is energy efficient, environmentally
sound, easy to operate and maintain, reliable, comfortable
and convenient, has lower life-cycle costs and offers design
flexibility.
Among
the many benefits of district energy are the following:
- Energy
efficient. When steam, hot water or chilled water arrive
at a customer's building, they are ready to use. They are
100 percent efficient "at the door," compared
with 80 percent or lower efficiencies when burning natural
gas or fuel oil at a building. In addition, district energy
systems can use the "reject heat" that results
from burning fuel to produce electricity at a power plant.
When
the reject heat is used, the system becomes a combined
heat and power system - generating both electricity and
heat for customers. This nearly doubles a power plant's
fuel efficiency and also lowers the emissions typically
associated with standard electrical production. The less
energy used, the less sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide
expelled into the environment.
Click
here to see a graphic showing the powerful energy
efficiency advantages of district energy/combined heat
and power technologies.
- Environmentally
sound. District energy enables building owners and managers
to conserve energy, improve operating efficiency and protect
the environment. With district energy, building managers
no longer need to burn fuels or store or use refrigerants
on site, so the site is safer and more environmentally sound
- and does not need unsightly smokestacks. Instead, fuel
and refrigerants are used at district energy plants. These
systems employ stringent emission controls - more so than
individual buildings - and this provides air-quality benefits.
- Easy
to operate and maintain. District energy is worry-free
heating and/or cooling delivered directly to a customer's
building - ready to use. Customers do not need boilers or
chillers, so there is less maintenance, monitoring and equipment
permitting. And that allows occupants, rather than energy
operations, to be the focus. District energy customers also
eliminate the need for fuel deliveries, handling and storage
so there are fewer safety and liability concerns for employees
and building occupants.
- Reliable.
Building owners and managers can count on district energy
systems since energy professionals operate around-the-clock
and have backup systems readily available. Most district
energy systems operate at a reliability of "five nines"
(99.999 percent). To IDEA's knowledge, there have been no
rolling "heat-outs" related to district energy
systems.
- Comfortable
and convenient. District energy service allows building
operators manage and control their own indoor environments.
Building occupants can be both comfortable and satisfied,
no matter what the outdoor temperature. District energy
is available whenever a building needs heating or cooling.
So even if there are unusually warm days in January, a building
can receive chilled water or steam for air conditioning,
without starting up its own chillers. In addition, district
energy reduces vibrations and noise problems that could
annoy building occupants and frees up building space so
more room is available to meet increasing tenant storage
needs.
- Lower
life-cycle costs. Since buildings using district energy
service don't need boilers or chillers, building owners
and managers reduce their upfront capital requirements and
their ongoing, operating, maintenance and labor costs considerably.
That means less financial risk and a far better return on
investment - plus the elimination of principal and interest
payments, property taxes associated with new boiler and
chiller installations, costly insurance and annual maintenance
contracts, and costs associated with operating boilers and
chillers. In addition, district energy systems have the
flexibility to use a variety of fuel sources in larger,
more economical volumes - from oil to natural gas to coal
to biomass - reducing the impact of supply and price variations.
- Design
flexibility. No smoke stacks, boilers or cooling towers
means greater building design flexibility. Architects can
easily design or renovate buildings to be more versatile
and aesthetically pleasing for both potential occupants
and the community.
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